Systems and methods for consumer-generated media reputation management

ABSTRACT

A method implementable in at least one electronic device coupled to a network and a display device, includes receiving, over the network, a data set, receiving, from a user, a selection of a first topic, determining, based on the data set, a plurality of network sites hosting commentary of the first topic and an authority level of each site of the plurality, determining, based on the data set, an authority level of each site of the plurality, determining, based on the data set, a plurality of authors providing the commentary hosted by the plurality of network sites, determining, based on the data set, an authority level of each author of the plurality, determining, based on the data set, a value characterizing an opinion of each author on the first topic.

PRIORITY CLAIM

The following applications are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety as if fully set forth herein: U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/998,730 filed Oct. 11, 2007; U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/003,144 filed Nov. 13, 2007; U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/072,776 filed Apr. 1, 2008; and U.S. Patent Application Ser. No.61/126,061 filed Apr. 29, 2008.

This application also a continuation-in-part of and claims priority toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/192,919 filed Aug. 15, 2008 whichclaims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/965,067 filed Aug. 15, 2007 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/956,097 filed Aug. 15, 2007. This application is also acontinuation-in-part of 11/745,390 filed May 7, 2007, and PCTApplication Serial Number PCT/US07/68392 filed May 7, 2007 both of whichclaims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/746,621 filed May 5, 2006, U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.60/861,406 filed Nov. 27, 2006, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/903,810 filed Feb. 26, 2007.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

This disclosure is protected under United States and InternationalCopyright Laws. © 2006-2008 Visible Technologies LLC. All RightsReserved. A portion of the disclosure of this patent document containsmaterial which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright ownerhas no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patentdocument or the patent disclosure after formal publication by the USPTO,as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records,but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Internet and other computer networks are communication systems. Thesophistication of this communication has improved and the primary modesdifferentiated over time and technological progress. Each primary modeof online communication varies based on a combination of three basicvalues: privacy, persistence, and control. Email as a communicationsmedium is private (communications are initially exchanged only betweennamed recipients), persistent (saved in inboxes or mail servers) butlacks control (once you send the message, you can't take it back, oredit it, or limit re-use of it). Instant messaging is private, typicallynot persistent (although some newer clients allow users to save history,so this mode is changing) and lacks control. Message boards are public(typically all members, and often all Internet users, can access yourmessage) persistent, but lack control (they are typically moderated by acentral owner of the board). Chat rooms are public (again, some aremembership based) typically not persistent, and lack control.

privacy persistence author control Chat Rooms/IRC no no no InstantMessaging yes no no Forums no yes no Email yes yes no Blogs no yes yessocial networks yes/no yes yes Second Life yes yes yes+

Blogs and Social Networks are the predominant communications mediumsthat permit author control. By reducing the cost, technicalsophistication, and experience required to create and administer a website, blogs and other persistent online communication have given anunprecedented amount of editorial control to millions of online authors.This has created a unique new environment for creative expression,commentary, discourse, and criticism without the historical limits ofeditorial control, cost, technical expertise, or distribution/exposure.

There is significant value in the information contained within thispublic media. Because the opinions, topics of discussion, brands andcelebrities mentioned and relationships evinced are typicallyunsolicited, the information presented, if well studied, represents anamazing new source of social insight, consumer feedback, opinionmeasurement, popularity analysis and messaging data. It also representsa fully exposed, granular network of peer and hierarchical relationshipsrich with authority and influence. The marketing, advertising, and PRvalue of this information is unprecedented.

This new medium represents a significant challenge for interestedparties to comprehensively understand and interact with. As of Q1 2007estimates for the number of active, unique online CGM sites (forums,blogs, social networks, etc.) range from 50 to 71 million, with growthrates in the hundreds of thousands of new sites per day. Compared to thetypical mediums that PR, Advertising and Marketing businesses anddivisions interact with (<1000 TV channels, <1000 radio stations, <1000major news publications, <10-20 major pundits on any given subject,etc.) this represents a nearly 10,000-fold increase in the number ofpotential targets for interaction.

Businesses and other motivated communicators have come to depend onsoftware that perform Business Intelligence, Customer RelationshipManagement, and Enterprise Resource Planning tasks to facilitateaccelerated, organized, prioritized, tracked and analyzed interactionwith customers and other target groups (e.g., voters, consumers,pundits, opinion leaders, analysts, reporters, and others). Thesesystems have been extended to facilitate IM, E-mail, and telephoneinteractions. These media have been successfully integrated because ofstandards (e.g., JABBER, POP3, SMTP, POTS, IMAP, and others) thatrequire that all participant applications conform to a set data formatthat allows interaction with this data in a predictable way.

Blogs and other CGM generate business value for their owners, both onprivate sites that use custom or open source software to manage theircommunications, and for large public hosting entities. Because thesesites generate advertising revenue by pulling users into the site,author/owners attempt to protect the content on these sites, so thatreaders/subscribers/peers have to visit the site, in order toparticipate in/observe the communication. Thus there is no financialincentive to make the content wholly available to the public and as aresult there is no unifying standard for blogs which contains completedata. RSS and Atom feeds allow structured communication of some portionof the communication on sites, but are often incomplete representationsof the data available on a given site. Sites also protect their contentfrom being “stolen” by automated systems with an array of CAPTCHAs,(“Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and HumansApart”) email verification, mobile phone text message verification,password authentication, cookie tracking, Uniform Resource Locator (URL)obfuscation, timeouts and Internet Protocol (IP) address tracking.

The result is a massively diverse community that it would be veryvaluable to understand and interact with, which resists aggregation andunified interaction by way of significant technical diversity,resistance to complete information data standards, and tests thatattempt to require one-to-one human interaction with content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention aredescribed in detail below with reference to the following drawings.

FIGS. 1-2 shows an exemplary system for consumer generated mediareputation management according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 shows a system for consumer generated media influence andsentiment determination according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an authority map according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 5-9 illustrates features of an authority map according to anembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of an active conversation feature.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment100 on which an embodiment of the invention can be implemented. Thecomputing system environment 100 is only one example of a suitablecomputing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation asto the scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the invention.Neither should the computing environment 100 be interpreted as havingany dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination ofcomponents illustrated in the exemplary operating environment 100.

Embodiments of the invention are operational with numerous othergeneral-purpose or special-purpose computing-system environments orconfigurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments,and/or configurations that can be suitable for use with embodiments ofthe invention include, but are not limited to, personal computers,server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, set-top boxes, programmable consumerelectronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers,distributed-computing environments that include any of the above systemsor devices, and the like.

Embodiments of the invention can be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that performparticular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.Embodiments of the invention can also be practiced indistributed-computing environments where tasks are performed by remoteprocessing devices that are linked through a communications network. Ina distributed-computing environment, program modules can be located inboth local- and remote-computer storage media including memory storagedevices.

With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system for implementing anembodiment of the invention includes a computing device, such ascomputing device 100. In its most basic configuration, computing device100 typically includes at least one processing unit 102 and memory 104.

Depending on the exact configuration and type of computing device,memory 104 can be volatile (such as random-access memory (RAM)),non-volatile (such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.) orsome combination of the two. This most basic configuration isillustrated in FIG. 1 by dashed line 106.

Additionally, device 100 can have additional features/functionality. Forexample, device 100 can also include additional storage (removableand/or non-removable) including, but not limited to, magnetic or opticaldisks or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated in FIG. 1 byremovable storage 108 and non-removable storage 110. Computer storagemedia includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removablemedia implemented in any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modulesor other data. Memory 104, removable storage 108 and non-removablestorage 110 are all examples of computer storage media. Computer storagemedia includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory orother memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or otheroptical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which canbe used to store the desired information and which can be accessed bydevice 100. Any such computer storage media can be part of device 100.

Device 100 can also contain communications connection(s) 112 that allowthe device to communicate with other devices. Communicationsconnection(s) 112 is an example of communication media. Communicationmedia typically embodies computer-readable instructions, datastructures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signalsuch as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes anyinformation delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as awired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such asacoustic, radio-frequency (RF), infrared and other wireless media. Theterm computer-readable media as used herein includes both storage mediaand communication media.

Device 100 can also have input device(s) 114 such as keyboard, mouse,pen, voice-input device, touch-input device, etc. Output device(s) 116such as a display, speakers, printer, etc. can also be included. Allsuch devices are well-known in the art and need not be discussed atlength here.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an embodiment of the present invention can bedescribed in the context of an exemplary computer network system 200 asillustrated. System 200 includes an electronic client device 210, suchas a personal computer or workstation, that is linked via acommunication medium, such as a network 220 (e.g., the Internet), to anelectronic device or system, such as a server 230. The server 230 canfurther be coupled, or otherwise have access, to a database 240 and acomputer system 260. Although the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2includes one server 230 coupled to one client device 210 via the network220, it should be recognized that embodiments of the invention can beimplemented using one or more such client devices coupled to one or moresuch servers.

In an embodiment, each of the client device 210 and server 230 caninclude all or fewer than all of the features associated with the device100 illustrated in and discussed with reference to FIG. 1. Client device210 includes or is otherwise coupled to a computer screen or display250. As is well known in the art, client device 210 can be used forvarious purposes including both network- and local-computing processes.

The client device 210 is linked via the network 220 to server 230 sothat computer programs, such as, for example, a browser, running on theclient device 210 can cooperate in two-way communication with server230. Server 230 can be coupled to database 240 to retrieve informationtherefrom and to store information thereto. Database 240 can include aplurality of different tables (not shown) that can be used by server 230to enable performance of various aspects of embodiments of theinvention. Additionally, the server 230 can be coupled to the computersystem 260 in a manner allowing the server to delegate certainprocessing functions to the computer system.

In at least one embodiment, methods and systems are implemented by acoordinated software and hardware computer system. This system caninclude a set of dedicated networked servers controlled by anembodiment. The servers can be installed with a combination ofcommercially available software, custom configurations, and customsoftware. A web server is one of those modules, which exposes a webbased client-side user interface (UI) to customer web browsers. The UIinteracts with the dedicated servers to deliver information to users.The cumulative logical function of these systems results in a system andmethod of an embodiment.

In alternate embodiments, the servers could be placed client side, couldbe shared or publicly owned, could be located together or separately.The servers could be the aggregation of non-dedicated compute resourcesfrom a Peer to Peer (P2P), grid, or other distributed network computingenvironments. The servers could run different commercial applications,different configurations with the same or similar cumulative logicalfunction. The client to this system could be run directly from theserver, could be a client side executable, could reside on a mobilephone or mobile media device, could be a plug-in to other Line ofBusiness applications or management systems. This system could operatein a client-less mode where only Application Programming Interface (API)or eXtensible Markup Language (XML) or Web-Services or other formattednetwork connections are made directly to the server system. Theseoutside consumers could be installed on the same servers as the customapplication components. The custom server-side engine applications couldbe written in different languages, using different constructs,foundations, architectural methodologies, storage and processingbehaviors while retaining the same or similar cumulative logicalfunction. The UI could be built in different languages, using differentconstructs, foundations, architectural methodologies, storage andprocessing behaviors while retaining the same or similar cumulativelogical function.

FIG. 3 shows a system within which can be implemented a method forconsumer-generated media influence and sentiment determination. Thesystem can be broken down into a set of modules. The modules can includewithout limitation the following: collection module 275 that receivesdata from Internet CGM sites 270, ingestion module 280, analysis module285, reporting module 290 and response module 295, which can providedfeedback data back to sites 270, as described in greater detail belowherein.

Embodiments of the invention can be described in the context of one ormore ecosystems. An “ecosystem” in the context of the presentapplication can describe online personas and sites (an Internet sitewhich contains CGM content) of their interactions that can be furtherdescribed by how the interactions occur, the topics of thoseinteractions, the frequency of interactions, and the like.

In an embodiment, and referring now to FIG. 4, an authority map 400 isillustrated, which can be displayed within a graphical user interface401 on the display device 250. The authority map 400 is a tool foridentifying and understanding the authors, associated with a specifiedtopic of interest, that matter to a particular entity using such anembodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, the displayed authority map400 shows an icon 405 representing a topic being analyzed, which, asillustrated, can be displayed as a hub of a hub-and-spoke configuration,along with a textual description of the topic. Also displayed are icons410 representing authors of varying levels of authority or perceivedinfluence (discussed in greater detail below herein) who have commentedor otherwise posted an opinion on the displayed topic. These icons 410can further include a domain identifier associated with the author, asillustrated. Also displayed are icons 415 representing sites of varyinglevels of authority or perceived influence (discussed in greater detailbelow herein) hosting conversations involving those authors and thedisplayed topic. These icons 415 can further include a domain identifierassociated with the site, as illustrated.

In an embodiment, each of the icons 410, 415 can be presented in adistinguishing format to indicate varying levels of authority/influence,and/or prevailing opinion or sentiment on the topic, associated withauthors and sites. For example, size of the icons 410, 415 cancorrespond to authority/influence of the respective author or site:bigger for more authoritative, smaller for less authoritative. Color,shading or pattern type of the icons 410, 415 can correspond toprevailing sentiment (e.g., green for positive, red for negative, greyfor neutral, and orange for mixed). Lines 420 connect the icons 410 ofauthors to the icons 415 of sites that host them, and from the siteicons to the topic icon 405 at the center. Dotted (or otherdistinguishing) lines 425 represent conversations or other connectionsoccurring between authors. In an embodiment, arrows at the ends of thedotted lines 425 show the direction of interaction, pointing, forexample, from commenter to original post author.

To populate the map 400, a criteria panel (not shown), such as apull-down menu, for example, can be used to select the topic ofinterest. The interface 401 allows a user to get additional informationabout any of the nodes (icons associated with authors, sites, andtopics) on the display 401. For example, and referring to FIG. 5, asmall pop-up window 500 with additional detail about that node canappear. The display can allows a user, for example, to promote or “pin”nodes that are of interest, which makes those items larger on thescreen.

Further included within an embodiment of the authority map is a seriesof calculations. For example, in an embodiment, the magnitude of authorauthority can be calculated based on data representing the topicselected by the user, using the conversations between authors and theactivity generated by the commentary of a particular author (e.g., thenumber of comments posted in response to a comment by the author) toevaluate the author's authority. This data can be calculated orotherwise determined by execution of computer-executable instructions,by human analysis, and/or some combination of both types of approaches.

The magnitude of site authority can be defined or otherwise determinedin a manner similar to that used to determine the magnitude of authorauthority. Data representing content pertaining to a particular topiccan be determined to have been written or otherwise produced by someoneat a site. As such, a site which has a predetermined threshold number ofcomments pertaining to a particular topic can be, for example,determined to be an authoritative site. The magnitude of the authorityof these sites can then be determined based on, for example, the amountor volume of comments pertaining to the topic in question and associatedwith each respective site. This data can be calculated or otherwisedetermined by execution of computer-executable instructions, by humananalysis, and/or some combination of both types of approaches.

Sentiment can be calculated by a weighted metric on the overallsentiment distribution, which, for example, can favor “sentimented”values over neutral values. In a hypothetical example a weighted ratioof four to one can be given to rank sentimented values over neutralvalues. This ranking can ensure that a user is receiving informationcharacterized and based on an authors sentiment on the user selectedtopic. Counts or totals, for example can be reflective of the on-topicconversations and based on the topic of interest chosen. For example, ifan author has written 200 posts, but only 5 are about the topic the useris interested in, the ranking calculation can be based on the those 5.In this embodiment the user can set the context in order to identifyauthorities in limited to that context.

Further included within an embodiment of the authority map is a seriesof calculations. Raw data is aggregated, processed, and analyzed inseveral ways. Posts, referring to CGM content (e.g., weblog postings,comments, forum replies, a product review, and the like) can be matchedto one or more topics of interest using, for example keyphrasedefinitions including a word, string of words, or groups of words withBoolean modifiers that are used as models for discovering CGM contentthat might be relevant to a given topic. For each topic matched, asentiment can be assigned, for example, by using manual attribution orcomputational attribution. Computational attribution of sentiment can beachieved by correlating patterns from a set of known pieces of contentthat represent the sentiment for a topic to the individual piece ofcontent being analyzed. For example, an embodiment can use text parsingin conjunction with Bayesian inference to assign a probability that apost exists within neutral or sentimented “states.” Each state can berepresented by a definition derived from groups of posts that arecharacteristic of that state. The comparison can be done using the statedefinitions that can be stored in an index resident on the client device210 and/or server 230 and/or database 240 and comparing that statedefinition with the content in question. In alternative embodiments, oradditionally, keywords, keyphrases, and/or keysentence recognition,referring, for example to a word, string of words, and/or groups ofwords with Boolean modifiers that are used as models for discovering CGMcontent that might be relevant to a given topic, can be used inconjunction with an index. The index can be used to correlate sentimentvalue with a particular or group of keywords, keyphrase, andkeysentences to determine an author's opinion on a topic.

In an exemplary embodiment, when displaying an author and/or site'ssentiment in the Authority Map, the dominant sentiment can becalculated, and ranked by a weighted metric on the overall sentimentdistribution across all posts that match the topic being analyzed,weighting “sentimented” values over neutral values. For ranking authors,for example, the posts can be matched by topic and/or contributed by anauthor of interest. For ranking sites, for example, the posts can bematched by topic and/or contributed at a site of interest. An author'sand/or a site's authority ranking can be calculated based on datarepresenting topics selected by the user, using the engagement,interactions, and/or conversations between authors and the activity(e.g., post counts). Therefore, calculations reflect the on-topicconversations, computed relative to the topic ecosystem and/or contextbeing analyzed. For example, if an author has written 200 posts, butonly 5 are on topic, the calculation will use the 5 contextuallyrelevant posts in the ranking calculation. In this embodiment, the usercan set the context in order to identify authorities limited to thatcontext.

Referring to FIGS. 6-9, embodiments of an authority map can include butis not limited to the following features: single topic representationwith a topic selector for context; color-coded sentiment visualizationrolled up to Authors and Sites; authority represented by icon size;topic-site linkage; site-author linkage; author-author linkage;mouse-over tool tip with data stats

Alternative embodiments can include, but are not limited to a slidingscale to allow user to choose the number of authors displayed; date andsite domain filters; data drill down capabilities that allows users toview the data behind the calculations.

In one embodiment an active conversation feature enables users toparticipate with different content providing authors, for example,bloggers, based on the content providing author's thread, questionstring, issue resolution, and/or the like, wherein such responsive mediacan include but is not limited to posting comments on a user's behalf,collecting follow-up comments from a blog and bringing those comments tothe user, enabling users to interact, and/or providing management of theinteraction cycle in a Workflow Manager. This embodiment is shown inFIG. 10.

Referring to FIG. 10, one embodiment includes integration with businessprocess and analytics. An Engagement Manager and/or Workflow Manager canbe tailored to focus on the operational activities of identifying,engaging, and responding to and/or with actionable posts, as well asmanaging the interaction between the user and the authors providingcontent. In another embodiment, the Engagement Manager can manage aworking group of users. For example, actionable posts can be allocatedto certain users within the working group, thus directing the workinggroup through the workspace based on the context and returned results.In one embodiment, batch actions relate to handling large amounts ofsimilar data. For example, in situations where content volume istypically large, users can apply general rules that identify groups ofposts for further action. For example, users can consider specific SiteDomains as non-actionable; specific authors as owned relationships forone member of the working group; and/or tasks can be divided anddistributed between individuals in a working group, for example, largenumbers of posts can be moved to individual members for detailed review.For example, in operation an action can be to assign and/or close alarge group of posts for individual line item review by a specific teammember. To facilitate these actions, administrator can be given theauthority to select a number of posts so that when a group of posts isselected, the administrator can preferably choose to bulk archive orbulk assign the selection. Alternative embodiments provide users withthe same capability.

In another embodiment a Rules Manager permits assignment of one or morerules to one user. A user may manually analyze content by prioritizingrules that create groups of content. Users can analyze one or moregroups of content based on their own individual specialties and roles.In this embodiment, a single user may create multiple rules to allowmultiple groups of content to be independently segregated, sorted andpresented to the user for analysis. The embodiment allows users toanalyze content in the order of priority based on the current needs, andchange that order when the need changes.

In this embodiment, the Rules Manager allows for the prioritization ofthe one or more rules, and further includes addition of selectionparameters to further define the one or more rules. In this embodiment,the rules manager increases the speed of overall system responses byrefreshing the UI upon any change or update to one or more rules.Additionally, the embodiment can display the number of posts theembodiment returns in applying any particular rule definition at thetime the rule was created, and whenever that rule is created and/orsaved. In this embodiment, the Rules Manager can also display the numberof posts returned by changing the search criteria from requiring anexact match for search terms to permitting near matches for one or moreof the criteria sections.

In another embodiment a re-scoring manager includes but is not limitedto the ability for a user to re-score a post from the response manager;adding additional topics to rescore against; and/or changing theexisting score for a topic.

In one embodiment, the feature set of the Engagement Manager can includea search, folder structure, batch actions activities, activity details,and/or usability enhancements. For example, the search feature can allowusers to search across their active and closed threads. This capabilitycan be implemented to make optional “Responding Rules.” The user candefine and identify specific groups of posts that are actionable. Inaddition to search functionality, users can also save searches overtime. Folder structure provides users with the identification of subsetsof workable posts without needing to re-search. Unassigned posts can beviewed by individual topics, regardless of the user role. Administratorscan see the current workstream of users by looking at individual userfolders. Administrator approval and pass queues can have a folder sothat the administrators can work through items that are targeted tothem. Closed posts also can have a folder for quick access. Users canswitch between different views, while also keeping the content separatebased on different user scenarios.

User activities include the lifecycle of threads through the engagementprocess. User activities are actions performed by users on content, thusdealing with, by some response of the user, with the incoming resultscontaining media. Users can perform as many activities as necessary toengage with, respond to, and/or gather responses from the communitybased on the content containing media. For example, wherein communityresponse to user is context- and thread-dependent, the responses fromuser can likewise target the community audience in a context- andthread-dependent manner, and reactions to the user can be harvested fromthe community in a context- and thread-dependent manner. For example,user activities can include, but are not limited to, monitoring, and/orresponsive media formats, responding via phone, IM, email, PM, post, ornot responding, adding a note to thread, and the like. In addition, thesystem can record the user activities, for example, assigning action,archiving, marking as responded, marking as pending approval for lateraction, engaged in active conversation, and the like. In embodiments ofthe invention the users activity can be decoupled from status of mediacontent i.e. the stage at which a media content/post exists in thelifecycle.

In another embodiment, to support ongoing engagement, as well astransferring assignment of a specified content thread to different users(e.g., different users can be part of a working team, or corporategroup), the system provides capabilities to capture information that isspecific for the situation. Each user activity logged has an editableTitle, Description and Outcome. Through this, users can captureinformation for themselves or others to read. User attached informationcan be attached to the content item so that the user engagement can beaudited in the future and/or used for reference when reviewing aspecific instance of communication. An outcome can be set as needed inany user activity. Although outcomes are available for any useractivity, it is the engagement-specific activities that are the focusfor setting this field. The outcome can be used, for example, to trackhow the community has responded to a given activity or a given user.

In one embodiment, business intelligence includes a summary dashboard.In this embodiment, the summary dashboard ca contain a high level viewof one or more user's account. It can contain less detail than anindividual marketing dashboard item and can represent an overall pictureof the user account data. The summary dashboard, for example, caninclude post volume wherein the user can see the number of pieces ofcontent for the chosen date range (e.g., past seven days), the lastperiod of the same duration (e.g., last week), and the same period oneyear ago.

In an exemplary embodiment the summary dashboard can include networksite volume which can show, e.g., the number of sites that have contentfor the chosen date range, the last period of same duration, and thesame period one year ago. In an exemplary embodiment the summarydashboard can include the author volume showing the number of authorsthat wrote content for the chosen date range, the last period of sameduration, and the same period one year ago. In an exemplary embodimentthe summary dashboard can include incoming content showing the contentrelated to specific topics coming into system across, e.g., the lastweek of posted dates. In an exemplary embodiment the summary dashboardcan include current sentiment showing the distribution of sentiment forcontent on specific topics. In an exemplary embodiment the summarydashboard can include a topic summary showing a quick view of the topicswith one or more of a sentiment meter, a post count and a percentage ofposts with a given sentiment (e.g., neutral) for the given period andselected topics of interest. In an exemplary embodiment the summarydashboard can include volume trend showing the trend of content, sitesand author volumes over the date range chosen. In an exemplaryembodiment the summary dashboard can include top authors based one ormore measurements such as activity, pull, reach, participation,authorship, or influence. In an exemplary embodiment the summarydashboard can include top sites based on measurements such as content,conversations, and authors.

In one embodiment, business intelligence includes a marketing/postsdashboard which can present a view of the account data with posts as thecentral area of focus. The Marketing/post dashboard can include forexample a summary wherein the number of pieces of content for the chosenperiod, number of pieces for the last period of same duration, number ofpieces for the same period from last year, and number of pieces fromyesterday for the different categories are displayed, wherein thedifferent categories include: total content, original posts, and orconversations or number of threads. In an exemplary embodiment theMarketing/post dashboard can include volume estimates, for example, anestimated volume trend based on keyword matching that measures thenumber of content in the following categories: total content, originalposts, conversations, or number of thread. In an exemplary embodimentthe Marketing/post dashboard can include relevant volume for example,the determined relevant volume trend obtained after the categorizationand sentiment scoring processes have taken place in the followingcategories: total content, original posts, conversations, or number ofthreads. In an exemplary embodiment the Marketing/post dashboard caninclude sentiment distribution, for example, for topics chosen in thefilter, this graph can show the distribution of positive, negative, andmixed from the portion of relevant posts that contain sentiment. Thesentiment distribution can be measured, for example, as percentage scaleto ensure clarity that can be masked from topic-post amplification. Inan exemplary embodiment the Marketing/post dashboard can includemetrics, for example, statistics of content includes top sites, topauthor, top topic and top thread. In an exemplary embodiment theMarketing/post dashboard can include topics metrics, for example foreach of the chosen topics of interest, the number of pieces of contentfor the chosen period, last period of same duration, and same periodfrom last year as well as a roll-up view of the sentiment that uses thesame algorithm used for rolling up sentiment in the ecosystem map can beshown

In one embodiment, business intelligence includes an Authors dashboardpresenting a view of the account data with authors as the central areaof focus. The Authors dashboard can include, for example: a summary, forexample, the number of authors for the chosen period, last period ofsame duration, same period from last year, and yesterday and for thefollowing categories: total authors, authors writing original posts andauthors starting a conversation.

In an exemplary embodiment the Authors dashboard can include a list ofthe top authors based on the measurements such as: activity, (rank basedon content volume), pull (rank based on author interaction on rankedauthors original posts), reach (rank based on author interaction onranked author's comments), participation (rank based on comment volume),authorship (rank based on original post volume) and influence (rankbased on a weighted metric involving activity reach and pull), and/ortopics (for each of the chosen topics of interest, this can show thenumber of authors for the chosen period, last period of same duration,and same period last year).

In one embodiment, business intelligence includes a Network Sitesdashboard (marketing/sites) that can present a view of the account datawith network sites as a central area of focus. The network sitesdashboard can include, for example a summary, for example, the number ofsites for the chosen period, last period of same duration, same periodfrom last year, and yesterday for the following categories: total sites,sites containing original posts, and sites containing a conversation. Inan exemplary embodiment the Network Sites dashboard can include metricssuch as: relevant volume (the determined relevant site volume trendobtained after the categorization and sentiment scoring processes havetaken place), top sites (the top 10 sites based on the measurements suchas: content, conversations, authors), and/or topics (for each of thechosen topics of interest, this can show the number of sites for thechosen period, last period of same duration and same period from lastyear).

In one embodiment, business intelligence includes a Topic Drill Down(marketing/topic drilldown) dashboard that can present a view of thedata, arranged to represent a topic-centric perspective. The topic drilldown dashboard can include, for example, a topic summary wherein thesummary volume for a specific topic displays content, sites and authorsfor this period, last period of same duration and same period from lastyear. In an exemplary embodiment the Topic Drill Down dashboard caninclude topic comparison, for example a chart showing an overview of thechosen topic in relation to the rest of the currently active topics. Inan exemplary embodiment the Topic Drill Down dashboard can include topicsentiment trend showing the volume of sentimented posts over time,broken down by positive, negative and mixed. In an exemplary embodimentthe Topic Drill Down dashboard can include topic volume trend showingthe volume for the topic trended over time for content, sites andauthors. In an exemplary embodiment the Topic Drill Down dashboard caninclude topic metrics showing statistics including top site, top authorand/or top thread. In an exemplary embodiment the Topic Drill Downdashboard can include topic sentiment summary including an overallsentiment summary for the topic showing: neutral vs. sentimented,breakdown of sentiment on positive, negative and mixed. In an exemplaryembodiment the Topic Drill Down dashboard can include topic comparisonswherein a summary of all topics showing content volume for the chosenperiod, last period of same duration, and same period from last year isdisplayed.

In other embodiments of the invention a Scoring Manager included in thebusiness intelligence dashboards includes filtering feature that ensuresthat the user is presented with relevant and useful content, i.e. userscan focus on posts and content which are particularly important, becauseunwanted content is filtered from view.

In other embodiments of the invention a Response Manager included in thebusiness intelligence dashboards can include a rescore function whichprovide users with the ability to re-score a content containing posteven if that post has not been previously scored. This feature providesusers with a streamlined way to score posts.

In other embodiments of the invention an Engagement Manager included inthe business intelligence dashboards provides users with an interface tovisualize the number of posts in each thread represented in their viewby providing a small counter of posts for each thread. This feature canallow the user to make a decision on which threads to respond to basedon the number of posts found therein. A data browser is included thatcan allow users to view a batch of unscored data, e.g., the last 30 daysof unscored data for their account, as well as the ability to easilysort that data, and navigate the pages of data. In addition to providinga new way to browse through unscored data, the Data Browser allows theuser to enter and search for particular exact match permalinks,regardless of topic matching. Using the data browser, users can locatethreads of interest and the importance of the threads based on permalinksearching, and then score these important items, bringing them intoEngagement Manager.

In another embodiment the invention includes a user interface wherein avariety of information can be displayed at any given time, giving usersa ‘quick view’ of information of particular interest. Included is a zoomfeature for many of the charts displayed in the Dashboards. ThisDashboard feature extends to line, scatter, summary, and pie charts inthe Dashboard display. The invention can provide many date ranges bywhich the user can limit the data in the view and can improve the daterange system by introducing a new custom date range builder. Using thisfeature, users can select a customized window of time by which to filtertheir view. This allows a user to filter and organize their dataaccording to their specific needs.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, as noted above, many changes can be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope ofthe invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferredembodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely byreference to the claims that follow.

1. A method implementable in at least one electronic device coupled to anetwork and a display device, comprising the steps of: receiving, overthe network, a data set; generating to the display device a userinterface including a menu of topics based on received data setselectable by a user of the user interface; determining, in response toa user selection of a first topic from the menu and based on thereceived data set, at least one network site hosting content relevant tothe user selected first topic; determining, based on the data set, anauthority level of at the at least one network site; determining, basedon the data set, at least one author contributing content related to theuser selected first topic hosted by the at least one network site;determining, based on the data set, an authority level of the at leastone author contributing content related to the user selected firsttopic; determining, based on the data set, a value characterizingcontent contributed by the at least one author on the first topic; andgenerating, in response to the user selected first topic, a set of iconswithin the user interface representing of the at least one network siteand the at least one author, said icons being presented based on thedetermined authority level and value characterizing content contributedby the at least one author.
 2. A method implementable in at least oneelectronic device coupled to a network and a display device, comprisingthe steps of: receiving, over the network, a data set; generating to thedisplay device a user interface including a menu of topics based onreceived data set selectable by a user of the user interface;determining, in response to a user selection of a first topic from themenu and based on the received data set, at least one network sitehosting content relevant to the user selected first topic; determining,based on the data set, an authority level of at the at least one networksite; determining, based on the data set, at least one authorcontributing content related to the user selected first topic hosted bythe at least one network site; determining, based on the data set, anauthority level of the at least one author contributing content relatedto the user selected first topic; determining, based on the data set, avalue characterizing content contributed by the at least one author onthe first topic; and generating responsive media content based on saiddata set and authority level and on the user's behalf wherein saidresponsive media content can be predetermined within the user interfaceby the user.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein generating responsivemedia content on the user's behalf further includes selection of apredetermined selection of responsive media content from the groupcomprising: collecting follow up comments, aggregating follow upcomments, enabling user to engage in interactive conversation, ormanagement of said interactive responses in a workflow manager.
 4. Asystem, comprising: a data processing system to identify content, andrank content based on a data set, of at least one content-relatednetwork site in response to user selected topics; a responsive mediaserver configured to identify ranked content items relevant to useridentified topics and to manage the responsive media content based onthe ranking and relevance to the user identified topics.